Underfell: The Purple Soul of Arial Gaster
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: A sister story to the original, this story takes place in the Underfell Universe and allows you to take a peek at how Sans and Papyrus first started out in the fell universe as well as what they are like in this harsh cruel world. Rating due to cursing is T, let me know if you think it should be higher.
1. Chapter 1

People had been known to disappear around the top of Mt. Ebbot. One such person was a woman who was named Ariel Serif. She was a young scientist that had just graduated from college as a Mythologist, with her concentration on monsters and a minor in engineering. Very few knew that she was a descendent of three of the seven sages that had sealed the monsters underground in the first place, or that she was descended from two of the three sages who were actually friends with the monsters. The only reason the purple souled sage, the light blue souled sage, and the red souled sage had helped to seal the monsters in was to protect them from the rest of the humans, and they did so with heavy hearts. The red soul had actually been a part of the royal guard before the war started, while the purple had been one of the leading scientists, always trying to better things for the world. The light Blue soul had been one of the royal sorcerers that had the patience to learn Monster Magic.

The stories of the truth behind the monsters' imprisonment had been passed down through the Serif family for generations, and Ariel Serif was determined to find out any truth behind it. She found the opening and brought out her soul. It was quivering with excitement, anticipation, and a perseverance to survive whatever may become of her down there. Perseverance was one of the greatest traits of the purple soul, and being the one to inherit the color only made Ariel more sure that she was meant to go and become one of the humans to disappear. Besides, from her research, she was able to deduce that the other people/ children who had disappeared had all been descendants from the other sages that sealed the barrier. She would be the sixth soul to disappear, and she knew it. She just didn't know if she could convince them to let her live a little first.

Ariel's mother was descended from the soul of integrity and was possessive, needy, and tried to force her into a multitude of things, one of which being marriage to another clan or to a wealthy person. Ariel was quite relieved when her father, the descendent of the souls of Patience and Perseverance, had won custody over her in the divorce.

Ariel was a tall young lady with chocolate brown hair, a dark black turtleneck, a white lab coat, blue jeans, and dark purple tennis shoes. She had cloudy glasses, and a dirty backpack that held many things in it. She also had dark blue eyes that brightened or turned purple whenever she attempted to use the ancient sage magic that ran through her.

Ariel looked down the hole that led to the underground and thought back to her reasons for going under. The world was cruel and didn't know how to respect people. Monsters were feared and respected still as they were terrors that haunted people's memories, even though they had been peaceful in the beginning. Man had corrupted monsters, there was no doubt about that in the mind of Ariel Serif as she used a grappling hook and made her way down into the hole.

She found herself in a pile of golden flowers, and not too soon either as the grappling hook fell, nearly hitting her. She growls and shakes her head before noticing one flower that seems to stand out. It has a face and seems pretty bruised.

"H…Howdy…" The flower sounds like a nervous child. Ariel takes a deep breath and walks towards it. The flower flinches away. "Y…you're new around here, aren't you? Y…you must b…be so con…confused… OH, I'm… Fl…Flowey… Flowey the Flower."

Ariel's usual glaring face turned into her soft one that she used when dealing with children or when she was making herself look less dangerous than she was. "Only a little, Flowey. I'm Dr. Ariel Serif. Are you okay?"

"Um… I'm…"

"Oh ignore the weed and face a real opponent, child." The voice was slightly crazy sounding, but at the same time, still seemed motherly. Ariel turned with a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she looked at a tall goat monster who was wearing a ragged looking purple dress.

Ariel smiled. "Flowey, how's about you go hide. I'm going to have some fun with this lady."

"D…d…don't hurt her… please… she's…" Flowey wanted so desperately to say what was on his mind, but he was worried about what else would happen if he revealed his big secret.

Ariel looked at the buttercup with a sympathetic smile. "I'll just beat her to within an inch of life and spare her, don't worry." Her smile then turned slightly crazy as well. It was as though she was made to survive in this crazy world of "Kill or be killed!"

"Be careful, she's got LOVE!" Flowey warned as he dodged a fireball, and he fled with tears in his eyes. He would remember this human who had shown him mercy.

Ariel gritted her teeth in a grin. She then shouted to the lady, "HEY, YA BITCH! YOU WANT TO FIGHT? I THINK I GOT ONE OR TWO LEFT; HAVE AT IT!" She felt her soul come out and form into a purple heart right in front of her. It was cracked and weak with a cancer, much to her opponent's surprise.

Torial, the goat lady, hardened her glare as the combat started. Ariel dodged all her fire attacks as she summoned her own magic to form a creation she called "Book Blasters" as they looked like books that shot out words as weapons. Much to Torial's surprise, words of kindness started shooting towards her. She didn't trust them, but couldn't dodge all of them. Torial was shocked with the healing words as Ariel stopped and looked at the goat woman.

"Why?" Some of her sanity had returned for the first time in centuries.

"I'm planning on figuring out how to get you all out of here, not kill you all." Ariel rolled her eyes as she noticed some of the red monster soul start to turn into a light pink, showing that it was trying to turn white once more, like it had been before man had corrupted them. Ariel held out a hand to her. "I'm Ariel Serif. I came here to see if I could help in any way to make this easier before I die and my soul is used for the barrier."

"I'm Torial… what do you mean?" Torial accepted the kindness with hesitance.

Ariel brought out her soul once more and showed her slightly broken soul. "I'm dying from a cancer that is set to kill me in a year. I'm came down here to see if I could make things easier for you, but don't expect anything too great. I can only do so much." She grumbled as she looked at herself with disdain. "I am a stupid human after all."


	2. Chapter 2

Torial led the human to the door in her basement that led out to the rest of the realm of Home. Torial left as Ariel made her way out of the ruins with a promise to not return and to try and show MERCY even though it would be difficult since the majority of the Underground had been corrupted by being forced underground for so long. Ariel had already planned on doing this, but was trained for a fight just in case.

Ariel didn't have to walk far in the cold before coming across some of the royal guard and a tall man in a black and red uniform. He was tall, and was a skeleton. He looked heavily armored and wore a black lab coat over his deep red armor that was form fitting. Ariel didn't know why, but she felt her heart skip a beat. 'Damn, this bastard has a commanding air about him, feels intelligent… and he's not bad on the eyes either… now let's see if he knows how to treat a lady…'

"A human?" His voice was deep, powerful, and definitely demanded respect, but also seemed filled with intelligence and cunning. "Interesting. You do know that all humans are sentenced to die down here, right?"

'He's polite.' Ariel smirked as she felt her magic tingle. "I'm dying anyway. I just want to see if I can do something down here before I die."

The skeleton frowned and seemed to roll the red lights in his sockets. "As if I'd let you dust anyone down here."

"Now, now, who said anything about killing?" Ariel grinned coyly. "I'm a scientist, so surely I can help with some things around here before I die."

Much to her surprise, the skeleton man before her pulled out her soul to do a soul check. 'Interesting, most humans can't do that without my consent. He must be powerful.' Her purple soul was slightly cracked even though the HP was at its highest of 7000 from her training. She touched the hearing aid in her ear to assure herself that she could hear everything this man said to her, which was usually the opposite of what she did when she met people on the surface!

He gave a deep chuckle as he signaled the guards with him to back down. "Well, the law says that you die and you're soul is taken to the king. It doesn't say how long we have to wait for you to die, especially if you're already dying. We need more than just your soul anyway, so waiting for you to die of cancer won't be too much of an inconvenience, so long as you obey my rules, and you don't dust anyone… without good reason of course." He gave a creepy and sadistic smile, and Ariel knew she felt something that she had never felt with a man from the surface. She had a crush! "I am Doctor Wing Dings Gaster, the royal Mad Scientist, and member of the elite royal guard." He walked right up to the human, also feeling a strange attraction to her for some unknown reason. He lifted her hand to his skull and gave it a mimic of a skeletal kiss, earning a blush from her, and a growl from the dogs. "And you are?"

"Doctor Ariel Hope Serif, engineering expert and combat specialist from Ebbot Town. A pleasure to finally meet a real gentleman." Her chuckle was like music to his ears.

The two of them were doing another **CHECK** on each other, now that they were sure they could do it without the guards seeing. Gaster was surprised to see that she was half-deaf, she knew sign-language, and found the rest of her bio to be quite interesting. Ariel found his to be quite sad, but also impressive, noticing that his soul had been one of the more resilient ones against the corruption. He was definitely an interesting man.


	3. Chapter 3

Ariel was busy writing up some calculations when her stomach growled. She growled back at it, determined to PERSEVERE through and finish the equation. Wing noticed this and was slightly amused, though he would never admit it, especially with his damn apprentice, Alphys nearby. Finally done with the calculation, Ariel put it down and then noticed Wing had been staring at her. "Hey, bastard, let's get something to eat."

Alphys snickered as the two started arguing. "You can't order me to do shit, you bitch!"

"You want that stupid Core project to work? I need food, you bonehead." Ariel growled back as she went to put on her coat. Wing, ever the secret gentleman, helped her to put it on, and held the doors open for her as they left.

Alphys just grinned as she started writing up some stupid story that shipped the royal scientist and the strange human. "I ship it." She muttered to herself behind her swirly glasses.

As the two walked, they complained about the core and the people they were stuck working with. Ariel also complained about how stupid the majority of the underground was for not recognizing a human. "It's not like we've had a lot of interaction with you damn humans over the past few hundred years."

"You've had at least three other than me in the last hundred alone." Ariel snarled.

Wing looked at her with a touch of wonder in his eyes. "Do you ever have a nice side?"

Ariel was taken aback by that. "Why would you care?" She murmured in confusion and a touch of sadness was noticeable in her voice. Wing was surprised by that. She always seemed so strong, so independent, why would asking such a simple question get her like this? Ariel sighed. "Yeah, I have a nice side, usually around children if you must know. I don't tend to get along with people very well."

The two entered Grillby's, which was a bar in Snowdin that was run by a purple fire monster wearing leather and gold. He also ran the local brothel and his ladies were a hit entertainment for the small town, not that much of anything else existed in the small place. The purple flame monster liked Ariel, if only because she resisted his charms, and she was pretty attractive for a human. "Hey cutie, knew you couldn't resist me for long."

Ariel rolled her eyes, her tough act back on as she looked at the fire monster who could barely keep himself in his pants. "You do realize that I only need to go grab a bucket of snow and hit you with it and you're dead, right?" The bar went silent at the threat while Wing smirked. He always liked Ariel's gumption. "Now how's about you get your brain out of the proverbial gutter and get me a burger with lots of mustard before I douse you and cook it myself. Mind you, I'm not so bad a cook, so I might be able to make this joint a lot better if I do dust you." Ariel snarled as she sat down at the counter with Wing smiling right next to her. It wasn't often to see Wing amused or smiling at all, but Ariel's defensiveness, and her cockiness around the other monsters just made him feel happy for some reason.

"Whatever…" Grillby was obviously shaken, but he was trying his best to act tough even though a human had actually managed to threaten him and scare him pretty badly. He went to the back and came back with two burgers, one of which was covered in mustard.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Wing asked with amusement still evident in his voice.

Ariel looked at him with a smirk. "You **must-ard** not heard, but it **beets** **catching up** with fries and a shake."

Wing rolled his eye-lights at that as a small smirk played on his skull. The majority of the bar just groaned. "Figures. You know one of these clowns might dust you for that?"

Ariel looked at the other scientist and laughed. "Yeah, like they could get anywhere close to dusting me while I can out maneuver them? Pfft!" With that, she started eating her burger. Wing felt like he was in love now.


	4. Chapter 4

Monsters coming at him from all sides? No problem. A meeting with the king, the most terrifying monster in the entire Underground? No sweat. Alphys' horrible amalgamations that she had made on accident when she failed to follow his instructions? Child's play. No, none of these things scared Wing Dings Gaster it seemed. Instead, he found himself scared of losing the company of the only creature he ever felt understood him, a human of all things too! He had sent Alphys home for the day, along with the other staff, not wanting to let them see him break down as the human finally died. Ariel Serif was dying of Cancer.

Alphys was disobeying though. She knew that the human was something special to Dr. Gaster, but she was curious to find out **_how_** special, and how far he would go to try and save her. Wing stood next to her, looking at her with a confused look on his face. He just didn't understand why a human like her had to die for something her ancestors had done.

Ariel just smiled at him weakly as her strength started to fade from her. "You know something funny, Wing?" Wing's eyes widened in shock. She never used his name. It was always some sort of insult, or Doc, but never did she call him "Wing"!

Wing swallowed with his non-existent throat. "What… Ariel?"

Ariel's smile softened even more as her eyes fluttered for a moment. "I never actually thought I'd find someone who would treat me with respect but still have their own opinion. Thank you…"

"Ariel…" Wing sat down in a chair near her and looked at her weak and frail body with his red eye lights. "I…" His voice now barely a whisper, "I love you… please don't go…" a few red luminescent tears fell from his sockets for the first time in years.

Ariel was stunned for a moment before smiling again and placing a hand on his skull. "I didn't realize you liked me as much as I liked you, Wing… I'm sorry…" with that, her hand fell, and Ariel Serif's breathing vanished.

"No…no… NO!" Wing growled as he summoned all his magic to try and heal this human. He rarely used healing magic, but he had to at least try. He closed his eyes as he poured all his magic into trying to heal her before her soul left her body. Eventually though, Wing Dings Gaster passed out, and unconsciousness claimed the mad scientist.

Alphys came out of her hiding spot with a sinking feeling in her stomach. The human's soul started to rise out of the body and started to glow a rich purple, but also a dash of blue for some reason. The strangest part though was when the room was enveloped entirely with the soul's light, blinding Alphys for a minute. Alphys actually felt the corruption in her own soul vanish for a minute as the light dimmed, revealing Ariel's body to no longer be human, but that of a monster! She was a skeleton now! Alphys didn't know why she felt a small surge of joy run through her system, but she knew that she didn't want to be around when Wing finally awoke. Alphys ran out of the lab just in time for Ariel to awaken.

"Ungh…" Ariel groaned as she opened her sockets. She looked at herself and used her magic to move Wing off of her as she did a complete check. "Oh stars…" She was now a skeleton! She made her way to a mirror that was nearby. Her eyes were no longer blue, but red, and her soul had turned into an upside down red heart that was corrupted like any other monster in the Underground!

"Ariel?" She turned towards Wing with a grimace and tears in her sockets. Her soul was now upside down, like a monster. She reached her hand towards where her hearing aid would've been, only to find it was gone. "Are you alright?"

Ariel walked over to the skeleton who had saved her life and pressed her teeth against his fangs in a kiss. "I've never been better, Wing." She was still tired though and fell asleep, nearly falling while doing so. Thankfully, he caught her and held her tightly, vowing to not lose her again so easily as he almost did.

He sighed as he finally admitted something to himself. He really did love this woman… he was so screwed…


	5. Chapter 5

Arial, as the once human scientist was now called, growled as she made her way past some monsters who had been trying to flirt with her. She wasn't the type to let anyone, man or beast, have their way with her just because they thought she was hot. Nah, she'd more likely have to cool them off by throwing them into a nearby river and shouting "Cool off and leave me alone." She was busy today anyway.

Wing Dings Gaster had asked her to come to a specific part of Waterfall and help him out with a secret project. If it had been anyone else, they'd be as good as dust. Arial had a special soft spot for him though. Wing was waiting for her at the end of one of the rivers with a pair of rain boots for her.

"Where to, Wing?" Arial was the only one who ever used his first name, and to be fair, Wing was the only one who actually called her by her own name as well. Most others called her "Serif", "Dr. Serif", or a bunch of things which were inappropriate and would likely get them dusted by either Arial, or Wing himself.

"You'll see." He led her through some parts of the rivers after she had the boots on, and the two made their way to a secret cavern that seemed to have a nice little Picnic set up.

Arial was so surprised as she looked from her bone-friend to the picnic. "You didn't have to." She smiled kindly.

"I felt like I should…" Wing grumbled.

Arial smiled and kissed him on the teeth with her own, *clack*. "It's wonderful."

Wing blushed a crimson red across his bone structure. "I… uh… um…"

"Wing?" Arial was now amused. Wing never got flustered.

"…" Wing huffed with irritation as he finally got the "Guts" to ask a question. "How do you court a human?"

"What?" Arial's sockets widened with shock, her red eye lights turning into a piercing blue for an instant of her shock.

"I… was wondering how you court a human…" Wing's blush got worse.

Arial was still in shock as her own skull was covered in a blush, though it was purple like her original magic for some reason. "Um… well… first is dating, like dinners and dancing, maybe something fancy when one is ready to propose, and then there's the proposal and the wedding… really simple but takes some nerve…"

Wing nodded as he walked over to the picnic blanket and pulled out a small radio like device and turned it on. "Well then, I guess we can dance and then have dinner?"

Arial nodded with a grimace. Humans never made it past the first line when talking to her, always being so brash, so full of themselves, trying to impress her. Wing was none of those things. He was honest, bold, protective, and a genius to boot. The skeleton was all she ever wanted in a package that included a touch of kindness towards her. She loved him and hoped that he really would get the guts to ask her to marry him, as she was too nervous to do it herself.

Arial looked at the skeleton with surprise as she recognized the song. It was sorta old, but it was known as " ** _I want to know what love is"_** by a band known as Foreigner.

Wing took a deep breath as he started to sing to the lyrics, much to Arial's surprise once more. Today just seemed to be full of surprises!

 **"I gotta take a little time**

 **A little time to think things over**

 **I better read between the lines**

 **In case I need it when I'm older."**

Wing was blushing furiously as he sang the song. He offered a hand out to Arial, silently asking if she wanted to dance. Arial blushed deeper as she took his hand and the two started to slow dance to the song.

 **"Now this mountain I must climb**

 **Feels like a world upon my shoulders**

 **I through the clouds I see love shine**

 **It keeps me warm as life grows colder."**

The passion in his voice, as well as the timid attitude, made Arial smile softly as she realized that Wing had never done this before. With her smile, Wing got a little more courage and relaxed his stiff shoulders a little.

 **"In my life there's been heartache and pain**

 **I don't know if I can face it again**

 **Can't stop now, I've traveled so far**

 **To change this lonely life."**

His own face softened and then lit up with surprise as Arial started singing the chorus with him.

 **"I wanna know what love is**

 **I want you to show me**

 **I wanna feel what love is**

 **I know you can show me."**

Arial smiled that sweet addicting smile that always hooked the rough skeleton monster, even now as a skeleton herself. She took over singing this time.

 **"I'm gonna take a little time**

 **A little time to look around me**

 **I've got nowhere left to hide**

 **It looks like love has finally found me."**

Arial also relaxed her form as she looked into the dark abyss of Wing's eye sockets and smiled as she found the small red stars that were hidden in them, starting to seem lighter, as though getting less corrupted.

 **"In my life there's been heartache and pain**

 **I don't know if I can face it again**

 **I can't stop now, I've traveled so far**

 **To change this lonely life."**

Arial looked a little sad at the last part of that verse. Wing lifted her chin up with one bony finger and kissed her sweetly before continuing the song with her.

 **"I wanna know what love is**

 **I want you to show me**

 **I wanna feel what love is**

 **I know you can show me**

 **I wanna know what love is**

 **I want you to show me**

 **And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is**

 **And I know, I know you can show me"**

The way Wing was holding her right now made her spark with pure love in her soul as he held her like she was made of glass, but tight enough as though afraid she'd run away.

 **"Let's talk about love**

 **I wanna know what love is, the love that you feel inside**

 **I want you to show me, and I'm feeling so much love**

 **I wanna feel what love is, no, you just cannot hide**

 **I know you can show me, yeah"**

The two slowed their dancing to a stop as they sang the last verse, love showing in both their eye sockets. The two of them were unaware of their souls flying above them in their original colors, no longer corrupted by the human determination that had been used to seal them up so harshly underground.

 **"I wanna know what love is, let's talk about love**

 **I want you to show me, I wanna feel it too**

 **I wanna feel what love is, I want to feel it too**

 **And I know and I know, I know you can show me**

 **Show me love is real yeah**

 **I wanna know what love is…"**

As the song ended, Wing got on one knee, much to Arial's astonishment, and pulled out a small box from his lab coat pocket. Hearts in both their sockets as they looked at each other. "Dr. Arial Hope Serif… will you do me the honor of marrying me and surviving through this hell-hole together?"

Purple luminescent tears fell from her sockets as Arial looked at the ring. It was gold with silver trimming in the shape of bones, and had rubies around it, as well as a set of rubies in the form of a flower on top of it, a small amethyst sitting in the center of the flower. Arial held her hand out to the skeleton monster so he could put the ring on her and claim her as his own. "Yes, Wing Dings Gaster. I would love to." After Wing placed the ring on her finger, she jump tackled him and kissed him deeply and passionately.

The two didn't leave their secret cave until hours later.


	6. Chapter 6

Wing came home from work to find the sleeping figure of Arial and his new son… stars he could still hardly believe it… Papyrus Puzzler Gaster. Arial had been in the Underground for two years and had been married to Wing for one of those years now. Arial had quickly found that after she had turned into a skeleton monster and changed her name to "Arial" rather than "Ariel", she found she could write in her font's name as well! Arial was so proud of her child and had been absolutely giddy at the thought of him becoming a brilliant tactician for his father in the Royal Guard! "He'll be just as smart as you, and just as fierce!" Arial had explained as she hugged the sharp boned baby just after he was born.

*Five Years Later*

Papyrus was growling in his chair with a few bruises on his arm bones as he sat near the principal's office. Sitting next to him, holding an ice pack to where one of her eyes had been, was a fish girl from the high school part of the school. She was admiring the little boney punk for managing to put up such a fight. On the other side of the door was another bench that had two monsters who were more damaged. They had been picking on new kids like Papyrus, and the skeleton monster had decided to stand up for himself and the others. Needless to say, Undyne Fisher, the fish girl, had to pull him off of the two before he earned his first Level of Violence from a couple of losers.

"Papyrus…" The red eyed skeleton looked up at his mother with a touch of shame in his expression. She was wearing her cloudy glasses and lab coat, meaning that she had been taken away from helping her husband with his latest project, The Core. "You okay, tough guy?" She asked as she knelt down and looked him square in the eyes, trying to gage his damage without using a check.

Papyrus grumbled. "I'm fine, Mother." Arial's concern grew even more at that. Her boy was never, **_ever_** quiet, and yet, here he was, barely louder than a whisper.

Arial sighed and then looked at the young lady that she knew was Undyne from when her husband talked about the recruits. She was fierce, but rash, and unfortunately, she was the best out of the new bunch. "Explanation?"

Undyne grimaced. "Those jerks started something and the punk decided he wanted to finish it. I tried to get the kid out of the fight and lost an eye in the process to one of these losers. Then…" She looked at Papyrus with a slight fear. "He decided he'd had enough and let out a special attack unlike anything I'd ever seen before! Those guys were only spared at the last second!"

Arial turned her gaze back to Papyrus. "Well?"

"… I'M NOT SORRY…" the small skeleton growled.

Arial smiled and patted his head. "Of course you aren't, you little devil child. You didn't do anything wrong. You were defending yourself. It's a good trait to be defensive. Now, I'm going to go talk to the principal about this. If I come back out and find any dust, I don't care who is left standing, I'm going to make sure they get the punishment they deserve, whether or not their parent is here or not." Her own growl, though quieter than Papyrus, gave off more of a scare to the four in the hallway.

Arial had a set face as she went into the office and listened to the principal rant about how dangerous her son was. She knew Papyrus was dangerous, she wasn't an idiot, but she also knew that he was only a danger to those who would seek him, or those he cared about, harm. After he was done with his rant, Arial started her own quiet little speech about his incompetence with children, their skills, and being unable to prevent this from happening. "…and if you are stupid enough to call me while at work again because Papyrus didn't do what you expected him to do, then you had better think again. My husband might be less likely to dust you than I am." She snarled as she left the room. The door slammed behind her and she looked at Papyrus and Undyne, both of which looked ashamed and fearful of the woman and of the consequences for getting caught fighting in school. "Let's go, you two." She then turned her head towards the two bullies who had hurt her child and taken Undyne's eye. Her sockets darkened to a dark abyss of hopelessness and despair. "If I hear about anything like this happening again, I can guarantee, that if Papyrus doesn't finish you off, you are going to wish he had, because I'm going to have a **great time** giving you a **bad time** , got it?" The bullies shivered in fear, one of them wetting his pants at the mere sight of the lady's scary face. Both of them were swearing up and down to never touch Undyne or Papyrus ever again. Papyrus had turned out stronger than they had anticipated anyways and they had ended up with the worst of the damage in the long run, save for the loss of Undyne's eye.

Halfway through Waterfall, as they were nearing Undyne's place, Undyne's curiosity finally got the better of her. "Um… why didn't you dust us?"

"Excuse me?" Arial stopped and looked at the young fish woman. She had a hand gently resting on where he stomach would have been if she was a human still, but Undyne was too worried to notice. "Why do you think I would dust you? You didn't do anything wrong."

"We got into trouble at school and you aren't punishing us?"

Arial rolled her red eye lights. "Undyne, let me put it to you this way, I'm not your mother, so I'm not in charge of you. The captain of the guard might punish you but I'm not, now go home, do your damn homework, and if I catch either of you two getting hurt like this again…" Arial took a deep breath to calm herself down once more. "Well let's just say that someone's going to be dust." Undyne needed no further bidding as she ran the rest of the way to her house.

Papyrus looked up at his mother as he finally placed his tiny bony hand in her own. "You were meaning the monster who threatens us, weren't you?"

Arial smiled down at her boy and picked him up, careful of the soul in her stomach at the moment. "Yes, I was, but don't tell Undyne that, hehe. She'll think I'm soft then. Now, let's get you home and tell daddy that his little hell spawn decided to show his claws, hehe."

"NYEH HEHE… ARE YOU GETTING BETTER, MOTHER?" Arial had been feeling unwell lately, due to being pregnant, but also because she feared her cancer was returning.

"Baby bones, one of three things will happen when your new brother comes. I don't want you to worry though. I want you to do all you can to protect him, even if he doesn't know for sure that you are doing that. Understand?"

Papyrus nodded solemnly. "MOTHER… I THINK YOU WILL BE FINE… BUT… I ALSO THINK HE'LL… BE WEAKER…" Papyrus muttered, surprising his mother. Apparently, the young genius had come to the same conclusion as she did. The first thing to happen could be that she dies while the baby lives. The second would have been that she lives while the baby dies. The third and most likely thing in the two's opinions that would happen was that the baby and mother would live, but the baby would be incredibly weak or sick a lot of the time and need special care.

"Well then, I hope you will do what you can to protect your little brother, because stars knows he's going to need you, Papyrus." She guided his small hand to her stomach where a tiny soul flew up towards him while still staying in her ecto-stomach. Papyrus nodded, determined in his own way to protect his little brother, no matter what he had to do.


	7. Chapter 7

Six year old Papyrus was sitting down in a chair next to his mother's bed in the hospital as he held the small bundle of bones that was known as Sans Comedic Gaster, his new little brother. Sans looked up at his big brother with his big black sockets that had small red orbs that seemed to be stars in his eyes. He reached a tiny hand up to him with wonder. Papyrus didn't know what the feeling in his chest was. He was now a big brother, and his mother had charged him with taking care of the tiny skeleton that was now in his hands. "NYEH, HELLO YA LITTLE SHIT, WELCOME TO THE WORLD I GUESS, SANS."

To his surprise, and secret delight, the baby didn't shrink from his loud voice or his course manner. Instead, the baby giggled and managed to place a hand on his elder brother's skull, patting it. Papyrus couldn't help but blush for some reason as he handed the baby off to his mother once more.

Arial smiled. While in public, she was harsh, cruel, and everything one would expect out of the wife of Dr. W.D. Gaster, but with her family, she was a kind lady that genuinely cared, but just had trouble showing it. Papyrus had similar issues as he didn't know how to show his concern either, but then again, it was a trait that was for all the Gaster family.

She held the baby up so that he was able to look at her. The baby giggled again and then turned to his dad who was looking at him skeptically, wondering if he would live very long with one HP. "Doc." The family blinked in shock as the baby pointed to his father. Wing looked at the kid and then down at his doctor's outfit and frowned. His kid had just said his first word, sure, but it was that he thought of his father as just a doctor! "Doc Da" came next, which sounded like he was trying to say "Doctor". The infant frowned as he realized that his father didn't understand him. He reached out his arms to the stubborn skeleton. His mother grinned and handed him over, having an idea on what he was saying.

"Yes, I'm a doctor, ya little shit." Wing cursed, wondering why his kid was able to say anything this early.

The baby frowned again as he grabbed his own father's skull with his tiny hands. Wing was unamused until his youngest said something that made both his wife and eldest laugh. "Doc Dada dummy."

"Wha?" Wing was starting to process it now.

Sans bopped him on the skull. "Dada silly doc."

That time it became clear and Wing just handed the boy back to his mother while he himself decided to hide his face in his coat like a child. Papyrus chuckled a little, surprised to see his usually tough father embarrassed by his little brother.

This time the infant looked at his mother and pointed to her with a big grin on his skull. "Ma!"

"That's right, little one, I'm your mama." Arial said soothingly as she held her baby close to her. Then she looked at Papyrus and then back to Sans. "That's your big brother, what do you call him if you call your father 'Doc'? Hmmm?"

Sans looked at Papyrus with a curious look, as though he was trying to figure out what he did think of his brother. Papyrus was even curious as he looked at the little baby. He himself didn't know what to think of his little brother other than he wanted to protect that precious little tot and make sure nothing happened to him. 'Oh stars, I'm going to go soft over a baby! My own brother is going to make me soft! What the hell am I going to do about this?'

"Boss?"

Papyrus looked at the little tyke who was now looking at him with worry for some reason, etched into his bony face. "WHAT, SANS?" as though it was natural to be addressed as "Boss".

"Papyrus…" Sans struggled to say his brother's full name, but it got the full attention of his family, and his older brother's shocked expression was definitely worth the effort for the baby. "…is boss."

Papyrus' jaw dropped, Wing just laughed at the boy's new expression, and Arial just smiled. "Yes, I suppose your big brother could be called your boss. I hear they can be bossy when they're trying to protect people they care about." Sans smiled and giggled, holding his arms out to his brother again. Papyrus tentively took the boy in his hands.

Sans smiles, coos, and then falls asleep in the safety of his older brother's arms. Arial is doing a check on her sons now that the room has calmed down. Just as she feared, Sans is weaker than anyone in the underground, what with only one HP, but his soul also seemed to be hiding the hidden traits of Patience in his soul. With Papyrus, he hid the hidden trait of Integrity in his soul. Arial was concerned about their futures, but knew in her own soul that despite how horrible the world could be at times, her boys were survivors just like her, and that they would be able to do great things when they got older. 'Even see the surface…'


	8. Chapter 8

Sans toddled after his older brother as they made their way to where the royal guard recruits were waiting to be tested. Papyrus was unaware of his toddler brother following him, as Sans knew when to be quiet. Papyrus kept his red scarf that his mother had made for him around his neck, even as he entered the area known as Waterfall. In Sans' humble opinion, it just made his brother look cooler as it flapped behind him. Sans toddled as quickly as he could behind his brother, keeping the big armored black winter coat his mother had gotten him on as he traveled through Waterfall. Soon the brothers came up to the training grounds near Undyne's house. Undyne was the current captain of the royal guard, despite her young age. Overlooking the training was the old tortoise, and previous captain of the royal guard, Gerson Justice, who had once been known as the "Hammer of Justice" in his youth before everyone in the underground became corrupted. Sans had a little theory that he and his brother weren't as corrupted as the others in the underground though, mainly because he knew his mother's secret; she had once been a human.

Papyrus lined up with the rest of the recruits, awaiting training or testing. Papyrus was hoping that he'd get his test today. He wanted to prove himself the best so that he could actually get in and possibly protect Sans better, not that many knew of his intentions. Sans had only figured it out by accident when he was hearing Papyrus talk it out with his mother about his plans for the day. Arial had approved of the idea and told him that he was only allowed to beat the living daylights out of his opponents; dust would only be necessary if ordered or asked.

Sans hid himself in one of the tiny cracks in the cavern after checking that it was empty. Sans quietly brought out his mustard bottle and began sucking on it. Sans had some nutrient deficiency issues, and it seemed that Mustard had all the necessary nutrients that he was lacking, so he always had a bottle or two of mustard on him. Sans was still a baby bones, so it was looked really cute when he did this.

Papyrus got his wish to be tested, and Undyne was going full out on him. Sans wasn't afraid for Papyrus though. He knew his big brother, his "Boss", had things under control, just like always. 'He's just that cool…' Sans' smile widened as he looked at the fight. Papyrus was obviously winning.

When Undyne was nearly an inch from death, Gerson called a halt to the fight. Papyrus stood back and looked down at the fish woman who had been under his boot. He admired her, that was for sure, but he also knew that he had to finish his schooling before he'd be allowed to lead. He could take second in command though if he really wanted. It would sure impress his father, an elite warrior and the royal mad scientist, who had taken a few more years before making it that far.

Suddenly, a phone rang out with the ringtone that Papyrus had assigned his mother; "ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE!" Papyrus opened the phone and listened as his mother ranted about how she had looked all over the house and couldn't find Sans. Ordinarily, that would have had Papyrus already half-way home, though he'd never admit it, but at the moment, his keen sense of hearing was allowing him to listen in on something else, along with his mother's rant.

"NYEH, RELAX, THE LITTLE SHIT-HEAD DECIDED TO GO AND WATCH A FIGHT, THAT'S ALL… NO, HE DIDN'T ENTER ONE HIMSELF, HE'S TWO, HE'S NOT A COMPLETE IDIOT… YES, I'M SURE I KNOW WHERE HE IS… YES, WE'LL BE HOME WITHIN TWO HOURS… YES I'M SURE HE'S SAFE… GOODBYE…" Papyrus closed the phone and then made his way over to the wall in the cave with Undyne looking at him like he was insane. "YOU DO KNOW THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD HER WHERE YOU WERE GOING FIRST, RIGHT?" He seemed to ask no one as he leaned against the wall near the hole where Sans was hiding.

"…sorry, boss… I wanted to see you train and then maybe I could learn how to train too!" Sans muttered as he stepped out of the little cavern hole, much to the surprise of the royal guard recruits and Undyne. Gerson was just amused. He was the oldest monster in the entire Underground, and he was the only one who seemed to have not had his soul corrupted by being trapped for so long under the ground. "I… I just wanted to be tough like you, boss."

Papyrus rolled his eye sockets and picked up the two year old. "Two years old, and you want to be a terror?" He muttered so that only Sans could hear. He looked over to Gerson then. "I HAVE TO TAKE HIM HOME NOW, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS. I APOLOGIZE FOR HAVING TO LEAVE EARLY, BUT…"

"No apologies necessary, Papyrus." Gerson replied with a crazy looking grin on his face. "You've passed you're testing anyway, and when you're of age, you'll be tested again to be sure you aren't weaker. When you are ten in two years, know that you have a guaranteed spot on the royal guard." Papyrus nodded as he carried Sans off through the caverns, certain of what he was doing.

When Papyrus was certain that no one would see him, he tightened his grip on the toddler in his arms. "NYEH, SANS THAT WAS CARELESS… HOW DID YOU SNEAK UP ON US ANYWAY?"

Sans nuzzled himself into his brother's shoulder. "I followed you, making sure to move through the snow as quietly as I could… I thought if I could follow you without you noticing, that I'd be at least good with stealth and maybe learn how to set traps like you, Boss."

Papyrus let a small sigh and a weak smile plague his face as the duo entered the Snowdin area. His little brother was always pulling stunts like this, trying to prove that he wasn't fragile, and that he wouldn't break easily. Truthfully, the two had found, by accident, that Sans' single health point was actually quite durable and stubborn! It was as though that one HP was actually several normal ones. Papyrus truly hoped that his brother would eventually gain more health though, and that he'd never have to lose a single point… not that he had more than one…

By the time the two had arrived back home, Sans had fallen asleep with a content look on his face. Arial looked like she had been about to shout and lecture the duo but the sight of the brothers being safe, happy, and the younger sleeping in his elder's bony arms with his tiny fingers clutching onto the taller's signature scarf… she just sighed and sent the two upstairs to their room to rest while she made dinner.

Wing went upstairs after work was done and dinner was ready to get the boys. He paused at the adorable sight that he knew Papyrus would kill for if someone let it slip. Papyrus was sleeping in his racecar bed with Sans sleeping on his chest as he leaned against the wall. The two brothers tired from all the excitement; Papyrus from passing the tests and then bringing Sans back, and Sans from toddling along after his big brother through Snowdin and half of Waterfall to watch him train!

Wing signaled to Arial to see, and the two parents smiled sweetly at the adorable seen, what with Sans using his over large jacket as a blanket for his brother and himself. Arial managed to take a picture with her phone, having remodeled it to take pictures silently and to work on the underground's phone service. She still couldn't get it to reach the surface, but with moments like these… she never really wanted to.


	9. Chapter 9

Sans frowned as he tried to summon an attack like his older brother. He was only three, but he still felt like he needed to train. He knew that his family couldn't always be around to protect him, no matter how much they wanted to. He also knew that if his older brother wasted time taking care of him because of his youth, then he wouldn't be as feared as he should be.

Sans concentrated harder on at least forming a single bone in his hand. His eyes closed in concentration until he felt his hand tingling. He opened his sockets wide as he saw a small, but definitely bright, red bone floating just above his hand. His smile widened as he looked at the weapon in his hand. It was small, but it was there. He then looked at a target he had set up for himself; a large tree with a target painted with mustard. He shot his arm out towards the target, concentrating his willpower into hitting the target. The tiny bone flew through the air and hit the target, slightly off center. Sans was already breathing hard, as it had taken a lot of his concentration to just do that much. He sat down in the snow and laughed as the magic bone faded away in a dark red wisp. He then lay down with the biggest grin he could **_mustard_** on his face. He was starting to not be useless.

"NYEH, NOT BAD, RUNT." Sans' eye sockets shot open with no light in them. He hadn't meant to be caught. He had wanted to surprise his brother, not get noticed. His blush only worsened at the next thing he heard.

"Not bad, Sans. For a first shot, managing to hit the target is actually pretty good." His mother? Oh stars…

"Eh, not bad for a toddler… I guess…" Oh Shit… his dad had even seen…

Sans turned to face his family. Arial looked so proud of him while Wing and Papyrus looked indifferent, though Sans did notice a faint smile on their skulls. Arial made her way over to the three year old sitting in the snow as he started blubbering about how he had wanted to surprise his family.

Papyrus rolled his eye-lights. His little brother was somewhat too emotional for his own good. Papyrus then had an idea. "NYEH, HEY, SANS!" The toddler sniffled as he looked up at where his brother stood about ten feet away now.

"What?" Sans did his best to sound like he hadn't just been crying.

"CATCH!" a snowball came spinning at the toddler faster than his parents could anticipate, but not faster than Sans' reaction. In the time it took Papyrus to straighten out after throwing the snowball, Sans had already dodged the attack by five feet, and had thrown four more in his elder brother's direction, two landing on him while a third landed in the snow near him. The fourth had landed on their father. Both boys looked at their father with shock as he looked down at the snowy mess on his chest.

"Welp… if you boys want a fight…" His own magic allowing him to raise up an entire mound of snow over Papyrus while his hands put together a snowball to throw at Sans. "… then I hope you're ready for war!" Wing grinned as he dropped the snow where Papyrus was supposedly, and threw the snowball at Sans. Much to his surprise, Sans had anticipated his father's move and had moved faster than his parents had ever seen him move before. Papyrus had only seen it once when Sans had gotten scared by Undyne and the dog pack. Sans had managed to get out of the way so that the snow ball just hit a small mound of snow that had Sans' name written in it, and he had managed to push his brother out of the way of the pile that had been above him, barely getting out of the way himself. "What the?"

Arial was still laughing, even as Sans started pitching snowballs at his parents. Papyrus chuckled and joined in, silently claiming to be on his brother's team against the parents. They didn't often get to do things like this, and Papyrus always treasured when he could. Sans himself always loved it when his older brother made the time to do something like this with him, and having his parents sharing this moment with him… he couldn't describe it, but he was sure he was beyond happy.

Before long, the family was in an all-out snow fight with Sans and Papyrus getting the most hits thanks to Sans' dodging skills and speed. Papyrus showed off his accuracy, both boys proving why they were still alive and why they were the pride and joys of the two Mad Royal Scientists.


	10. Chapter 10

Sans didn't know what to think as he looked at one of the toughest monsters he ever knew lying on a slab, dying. "Ma?" Wing had already passed out, trying to save her, and failing miserably, managing to crack his skull in the process.

"Hey, Sanshine… sorry baby bones, mommy's not feeling good so I can't train with you right now." She coughed weakly as her pupils went from red to blue, her original eye color.

Sans' soul hurt as though it was being squeezed. He could barely handle seeing this, but… he didn't want her to die alone… she deserved far better. "That's fine, Ma. I just wanna talk." The four year old sat himself on the bed next to his mother, taking a hand in his own.

"Sans… I don't…"

"I'm not leaving, Ma. You don't deserve to die alone…" Sans tried to hold his tears back, knowing that other monsters would see it as a sign of weakness, and the little brother of the Great and Terrible Papyrus could ill afford to be seen weaker than he already was. In his mind, countless ideas came forth as he concentrated. "I'm going to fix this…"

"Fix what?"

Sans opened his sockets to look at his mother with a weakened grin. "I know how to bring you back… how to bring all the humans back… I just need time…"

"Sans the barrier…"

"I'll wait till it's gone before I start. The king shouldn't be upset with that if it means I might be able to bring his own adopted human child back, will he?"

"No, but Sans… no one can bring back the dead."

"Dying in here as a human, the soul stays strong and persists even after death." Sans went into his lecture mode, a rare occasion to be sure. "Humans' souls tend to stay even after death. Unless the body is completely destroyed, as was found out." Arial gave a weak nod, wondering where this was going. "The five souls that were collected were all from humans that had died of some sort of natural cause, or their body hadn't been utterly destroyed. This could mean that the soul is still very much alive, and that the human is just separated from it. If this is the case, then repairing the body and easing the soul back into its original vessel should allow a 'Dead' human to wake up as though they were just in a coma."

Arial's weakened mind tried to process this, and she felt her form shift out of her control as this happened. Sans noticed this and kept a neutral gaze as he looked at the pale skinned human with rich dark brown hair. She hadn't expected this from her four year old. She hadn't expected him to piece together she had once been human.

"Ma, when we get to the surface, I'm going to do everything I can to bring you back. I know you prefer using perseverance magic, but do me a favor… just be Patient with me, and I'll have you back with us before ya know it." Ariel cried as she hugged her baby. He didn't hate her for being a human. He didn't care!

"I love you boys… remember that…" With that, Ariel Hope Serif-Gaster breathed her last, her form falling back onto the bed.

Sans gritted his teeth more than usual as he saw her soul rise out of her; a purple heart that had turned into its upright position. It was at this point that Papyrus came in. "SANS, DON'T TOUCH THAT! IT'S HIGHLY DANGEROUS TO TOUCH A HUMAN SOUL, YOU COULD END UP ABSORBING IT BY ACCIDENT!"

Sans looked to his elder brother and then to the soul. "Sorry, big brother," Papyrus paled, if a skeleton monster could get any paler. Sans only ever called him by that if he had to disobey him for some reason. "But I need to get her to the king." Sans touched the soul and the room was enveloped in a bright white light that was tinged purple.

When the light had faded, a tall young human, definitely older than Sans, was standing in the room, wearing Sans' clothes only with a shiny aspect to it, as though made of pure magic. The human had white hair that was spiked forward like a rebel, had red eyes that were tinged with light blue, and he was standing at about the same height as Papyrus!

"Huh… welp, I guess that's the problem with being a baby boned genius, you got too much control over yourself and when you absorb a human soul, you tend to look like a human rather than a super cool monster. Eh, whateves." Sans picked up the body of his mother and then turned to Papyrus. "I'll be back, Boss, unless you want to come in and take credit for capturing a human?"

Papyrus, though disgusted with the notion, walked up to his… baby brother… and glared at him. "The only reason I'm going with you is so that you don't get attacked by the others when you break into the castle looking like that." His voice was quiet, cold, and harsh, more so than both their parents combined. Sans nodded.

"Let's take a shortcut." Sans grabbed Papyrus hand after slinging his mother over his shoulder and took a step forward, the three of them disappearing in a flash of crimson light. Papyrus was shocked to find themselves in the castle throne room. The king noticed them instantly, as did some of the guards. Sans sighed as he removed the soul from his own, and fell back into his monster form, though tired from the use of magic.

"What just…?" The king, Asgore, had never seen anything like it before.

Sans passed out into his older brother's grasp, who was now the taller once more. "MY APOLOGIES, MY KING, BUT MY BROTHER HAS AN ABILITY THAT HE BELIEVED WOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH TO GET US HERE IF HE ABSORBED THE HUMAN'S SOUL. HE OVERESTIMATED HOW DRAINING IT WOULD BE TO HIMSELF. HE IS ONLY FOUR AFTER ALL..." Papyrus had on his most solemn face as he held his brother. The purple soul floated near the two, but didn't seem afraid, at least not of them. "WE FOUND THIS HUMAN IN WATERFALL ON OUR WAY TO TRAINING WITH THE CAPTAIN. SHE WAS DYING OF NO WOUND OR INJURY, AND SHE POSSESSED NO DUST ON HER HANDS. I BELIEVE THAT THIS HUMAN HAD FALLEN DOWN HERE TO SIMPLY JUST DIE." Papyrus explained as carefully as he could, not sure how the king would react to finding out that one of the royal scientists had been a human.

"How come her soul does not flee from you two?"

Papyrus wished he could roll his eye lights at that, but knew better. "NYEH, I MAY BE TEN, BUT I AM STILL COUNTED AS A CHILD IN SOME PLACES AND BY SOME PEOPLE. MY BROTHER ISN'T EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO GO TO SCHOOL YET. HUMANS ARE WEAK AGAINST CHILDREN AND FIND THEM LESS THREATENING IF MY RESEARCH IN HISTORY BOOKS HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING."

"Why would you research such a thing?"

"ISN'T THAT WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO IF I WANT TO BECOME A TACTITION FOR THE ROYAL GUARD?"

Asgore nodded, his magic summoning up a container for the soul. It was simple and would protect it. "This human did no harm?"

"NYEH, NONE WHATSOEVER, YOUR MAJESTY." Papyrus' gaze never wavered as the soul willingly entered the container.

"We'll place the body in a casket then. Humans may prefer to be buried in the ground, but the rare good few humans who come down here deserve to be buried not so far under the ground." Papyrus did a quick soul check on the king. He wasn't as corrupted as some of the other monsters, and still had his good points. Thankfully, no one noticed the young skeleton doing this. Papyrus simply nodded and shifted his hold on his sleeping brother so that it was easier. "You have done well… you two may leave."

"THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY…" Papyrus takes one more quick glance at his mother's human body, sighs softly, and then leaves the old fashioned way with his brother in his arms.

The two of them were almost to Snowdin when their father met them in the snowy forest just before the town. Wing looked relieved to find them both alright. Much to his shock though, Papyrus took a glance at him and started crying, crimson tears started to fall from the skeleton child as he held his little brother tightly and made his way over to his father. Sans had woken up sometime in Waterfall and had started to cry softly. Wing ran the rest of the way to his children and knelt down to hug them both. He also started to cry at the loss of his wife, their mother.

After crying for a good five minutes, a snowstorm had started to blow around the trio. Wing picked up both of his boys, effectively clearing his expression of his moment of weakness, as did Papyrus, but he soon fell asleep. Sans however was in need of his mustard bottle, so he pulled it out and started sucking on it like a baby bones still. He had a plan. He just had to be… PATIENT…


End file.
